Class-action suit against Range seeks overtime payments
A former independent contractor for Range Resources has filed suit in federal court seeking to recover unpaid overtime wages for himself and others under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act.
In a suit filed Wednesday, Daryl Seagraves states he and other workers like him were typically scheduled for 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, for weeks at a time. Seagraves claims these workers never received overtime for hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a single work week, and instead of paying overtime as required by FLSA and PMWA, the company paid the workers a daily rate and improperly classified them as independent contractors.
According to documents submitted by attorneys representing Seagraves, the suit seeks to recover the unpaid overtime wages and other damages, including liquidated damages, attorneys’ fees and costs.
The filing, which does not enumerate or estimate the number of workers who are potential plaintiffs, said the suit covers all current and former oilfield employees who worked for, or on behalf of, Range in the past three years and were classified as independent contractors and paid a day rate with no overtime compensation.
Range is a leading U.S. independent oil and natural gas producer with operations focused in the Appalachian Basin and northern Louisiana, with about 1 million acres of leasehold across Pennsylvania.
The suit states Seagraves worked for Range for nearly a year as an independent contractor, performing routine manual and technical labor duties largely dictated by the company.
According to the documents, Range’s policy of failing to pay its independent contractors overtime violates several statutes of both the FLSA and PMWA because “these workers are, for all purposes, employees performing non-exempt job duties” who “are maintaining and working with oilfield machinery, performing manual labor, and working long hours out in the field.”
The suit, which seeks a jury trial, further states that because the plaintiff was misclassified as an independent contractor by Range, he should receive overtime for all hours that he worked in excess of 40 hours in each work week.
“We value the contributions of employees and independent contractors to our business and strive to diligently classify these individuals,” said Range spokesman Mark Windle. “We haven’t had the opportunity to review the details of the complaint at this time.”